Action Menu

Resources

Utility Menu

Waste reduction

Photo: MIT

Minimizing the amount of waste we produce

When we hear “waste reduction,” we tend to think about reducing our contributions to the landfill or incinerator, but waste reduction is a more complex and far-reaching story. The collection, transportation, and disposal of waste have tremendous economic and environmental impacts on our communities. Waste is also a public-health issue and a quality-of-life issue.

While there is great value in establishing recycling programs to reduce the amount of disposed waste, it’s just as important to take steps to encourage reduction of the amount of waste generated in the first place. At the MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS), we are working to develop innovative, cost-effective, and socially responsible strategies to divert waste from landfills, reduce air, water, and soil pollution, decrease emissions, recover and repurpose valuable materials, and compost and redirect surplus food.

Strategies

Here are just a few of the waste reduction strategies we’re exploring:

reduce or eliminate campus waste at or near the source of generation

purchase materials that are made from renewable resources

increase the diversion rate of campus waste through reuse, recycling, and composting

evaluate and factor in the lifecycle of materials during the purchasing process

MITOS Focus Areas

MITOS is currently working collaboratively to transform campus waste systems via operations, education, research and innovation in the following areas.

Photo: Megapixl.com

Material Flow Analysis

Through a partnership with the Environmental Solutions Initiative, this collaborative analysis asks the question: How can MIT optimize material flows and reduce its negative impacts through innovations in purchasing, consumption and disposal processes?

In November 2015, the MIT Office of Sustainability released the first set of recommendations, generated by the 2014-2015 Sustainability Working Groups, which address the following topics: building design and construction; stormwater and land management; materials management; and green labs.